Saudi beheaded for kidnapping and raping a boy

RIYADH - Saudi Arabia on Wednesday beheaded one of its citizens after he was found guilty of kidnapping and raping a boy, the interior ministry said in a statement carried by the state news agency SPA.

Mohammed bin Ahmad al-Jubeiri, who kidnapped, beat and then raped a little boy, was executed Wednesday in the kingdom's holy city of Mecca, the ministry said.

It did not give further details about the identity or age of the boy.

It said Jubeiri was also found guilty of consuming drugs and alcohol.

Jubeiri's beheading brings to 46 the number of people executed in Saudi Arabia so far this year, according to an AFP tally based on official reports.

Under the AFP count, at least 76 people were beheaded in 2011, while rights group Amnesty International put the number of executions last year at 79.

The death penalty in Saudi Arabia applies to a wide range of offences including rape, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking, as well as murder, as stipulated by Islamic sharia law.